John Wall not discouraged by Wizards four game losing streak

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 2013-12-15 01:30

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The return of Martell Webster to the starting lineup hasn't quite worked out the last two games. He overcame what appeared to be a terrible left ankle sprain, which only kept him out one game, but has failed to make a three-pointer.

Webster is 8-for-21 shooting overall, including misfiring on all six of his three-point attempts. Without him to help space the floor with Trevor Ariza, the Wizards (9-13), who already are without Bradley Beal, get bogged down in half-court sets.

There's no reason to believe his ankle, which he began taping for the first time in his career to prevent a recurrence, is the reason. Webster has played 39 and 33 minutes and could be seen battling for rebounds in traffic.

"I think his ankle is fine. Sometimes you lose a rhythm. He missed a game," coach Randy Wittman said. "You get in a routine, it's sometimes hard to get back in it. He'll be alright. He's fine physically."

Webster's diagnosis of how to fix what's broken in the NBA's 19th-ranked scoring offense going into Monday's game at the New York Knicks:

"The most important for us is just getting back to the basics of the game. When we play great defense it gives us a great rhythm on offense and allows us to run out in transition. But after that, once we take a way the transitions, its back to the basics. That's setting screens, taking your guy in a couple steps and then coming off the screen, getting yourself open, then making the right reads. The A-B pass. Not the A-Z pass. When we do that we get the defense on their heels, we're able to attack and get open jump shots."